The Lollies
Quite how two Canadians and an American find themselves holed up in London playing some of the most glorious pop-music since Heavenly went their separate ways is a matter for some thought. And quite why more British bands aren’t like the Lollies is another.
Y’see, whereas most of our youth want to sound like the grandpa turd that is Travis, or they’re so fixated by silly people in masks that they overlook the finer things in life, like pop music and The Lollies.
Take that name for a start, it’s genius....we don’t need no education to tell that, by band name alone, this North American three-piece can make us laugh, cry, dance, open an extra packet of cup-a-soup and laugh again..all at the same time.
With their last single, ‘Channel Heaven’ making a welcome stay in the indie charts tasty caught up with Jane and Kate to ask after their well-being....

Your image - natural or somewhat pre-determined? Are you slaves to fashion or does it come naturally?
J: 100% natural. We never sit around planning which stripey trousers to wear or putting each other's hair in pigtails. Nope. Not. Ever.
K: I'd be lying if I said that we *didn't* think about our image,
about how we present ourselves. I'm an ex art student, and the
presentation is part of the package. Visuals, like our album artwork, are very important to us! I think we actually spent more money on the 8-page colour booklet that accompanied our first EP than we did on recording the music! But we're not a fashion band in the slightest, our visual presentation is an expression of our own aesthetic sense, not any vagaries of the Arbiters Of Fashion. Certainly, we're girls, we compare notes about what we're going to wear before gigs or photo shoots. Though to be honest, I spend more time worrying about what guitar pedals I'm going to use than what shoes I'm going to wear.

Is pop music dead, or merely waiting for the lollies to kiss it back to life?
J: Pop music never died, it just lost all its attitude. We'll kick its arse until it's the gigantic formidable daunting force it once was. Pop music is never dead, that's an oxymoron, as pop is an expression of popular culture, and popular culture will last as long
as there is a population! But yes, popular tastes change, and I've generally noticed that they change in cycles. There will be a cycle of manufactured pre-fab bubblegum pop, and then an explosion of "genuine" music as a backlash, and then round again. I think the Lollies are perfectly balanced in that we combine the aesthetic of pre-fab bubblegum pop with the ideals of "genuine" indie. (Or is it the other way around?) Pop music doesn't have to be unintelligent, and indie music doesn't have to have no sense of fun, and I hope The Lollies are proof of that.

Will you be celebrating the Queen's Jubilee this year? How long has the Queen Mother been dead?
J: I never liked Queen. They were far too bombastic. That 5ive cover was great though. Pure comedy. Oh, I think I've missed the point...
K: Oh yes, of course. Anything for a party. I'd go to the opening of an envelope. I personally think the monarchy are great, they're a 1000-year old soap opera! Better than Eastenders!

Are the band politically aware/active? What do you see as your manifesto?
J: Meat Beat Manifesto were brilliant. . . Oh no, I'm doing it again. Focus, focus...Alright. Our manifesto. To make smart music fun and pop music smart again. And to never ever, ever have sponsored hair.
K: I don't believe in speaking about your political beliefs, I believe in *living* your political beliefs, otherwise it's just hollow posturing. We are not an overtly political band, because I don't like it when other people force their beliefs in my face, so I'd never do it to others. I am a feminist, a liberal, a pacifist, a vegetarian, and I live my life according to those beliefs, but I prefer actions to empty words or manifestos. If The Lollies have a manifesto, it's probably along the lines of not taking life too seriously. Be serious about what you do, believe in yourself, but when bad things happen, it's better to laugh at them than to let them drag you down. That's what we try to do, and that's what this whole band was founded for.

You lot have originated from so far apart..but what one thing brings you together, apart from the lollies?
J: Eating. It's all about the food.
K: Buffy The Vampire Slayer and the Powerpuff Girls!

Do you get dispirited by the British attitude at all?
J; I've not even figured out what the British attitude is yet, and I've been here for years. There seems to be a bit of a can-do spirit here that I haven't experienced elsewhere. Plus, Brits love their popstars, so how can we complain?
K: I love Britain, and I have chosen to live here, because I find that the British music scene, especially living in London, is so vibrant, so energetic, and there is so much going on. But there are certain things I find very frustrating about the English attitude, yes. The thing that I find most frustrating is the British "Fear of Success". I find it really funny that the biggest insult you can give
a musician seems to be to call them "middle class". In America, everyone *aspires* to be Middle Class. Here, you're not supposed to *want* to be successful, and you're not supposed to toot your own horn, and if you *do* achieve any kind of success, no matter how small, there are always going to be people trying to tear you down and knock you off your pedestal and discount what you've done. I don't know if it's jealousy or fear of success, or even if it's a British thing or just human nature, but it makes me sad.

What say you to future world domination? Can the lollies 'lick'... ho,ho, the opposition, or are you merely content with your lowly, yet significant position in the musical Nationwide league?
J: Lowly? Who are you calling lowly. Why I oughta...Bring 'em on, baby. We'll knock 'em down. Whiney, MOR, safe, dull, derivative musicians of the world, you better run and hide your skinny arses!
K: Oh no, it's all about the music for me, man. I'd be happy making records in my bedroom, and if even one person outside the band likes it, then that's a bonus and... fuck off! Of course we want world domination, don't be ridiculous. I make music that I fucking love because I love it, *and* I want it to be successful. Anyone who claims they don't is either a liar or a saint, and I'm neither. 

Who holds the band record for eating the most lollies?
J: Actually, we hold a joint world record for sucking the most lollies at one sitting. We managed to eat 9,822. Really. It's in the Guinness book. Man, our tongues were sore for days..
K: Most, I don't know. But as for being the biggest lollies fiend, that would probably be me. I once picked up a Chuppa-Chup I'd dropped in a gutter on the Lower East Side, brushed it off and carried on eating it. Gross enough for ya?

www.thelollies.co.uk/

In the latest of tasty’s trawl around the best indie labels in the world, we speak to Jimmy, head, and indeed, only honcho at the ever-wonderful Matinee Records.

Tell me more about how Matinée came about?
In 1996 I was running a pop mail order called Roundabout Records and it was growing out of control. so I did what any responsible adult would do and killed it off. Before it died I was planning a cassette compilation with songs from many of the labels I distributed but in the course of contacting folks I got in touch with an Australian band called Sweet William and changed the plan to a 7" single instead. Six months later the "Dutch Mother" EP was born under the newly monikered Matinée Recordings and I never looked back.

Had you always wanted your own label?
Not particularly. I was happy being the ultimate consumer-buying loads and loads of records and sometimes not even listening to them at first or for awhile or ever. I went to college for architecture and then received a masters degree in city planning which led me to a very serious job on Capitol Hill working on tax legislation for affordable housing. Starting the label was a creative outlet for me and happily it has been a great run so far.

What is/was your favourite label and why? Do you think that the indie-pop genre is overlooked far too much these days?
The best label of our lifetime is hands down Creation Records. As a kid I knew I was cooler than anyone because I was listening to records from the Revolving Paint Dream or Primal Scream or Biff Bang Pow! and thinking now, this is different. I dare you to name a better run of singles than Creation's twenties: Bodines, Pastels, Felt, Primal Scream, Biff Bang Pow!, Jasmine Minks, Weather Prophets...
Today, indiepop does not receive significant mainstream press so I guess you could consider it overlooked. The entire concept of media has changed in the last five years though, as magazines and other traditional media struggle to keep up with the ever-changing (and more exciting) world of e-zines and online music sites. When we were kids (in America) you had to read magazines or hang out in record shops to hear about new music but now you can type a few words into a search engine, listen to some soundclips and buy your music online from a place halfway around the world in a matter of minutes.

It seems there are hundreds of indie pop labels throughout the world...why are these successful? Especially when we see bigger 'indies' struggling every day?
Success is all relative. If you start something with absolutely no expectation of what you might achieve or how far it might go then everything that happens is a success. First single. first review. first radio play. first album. first release to sell 500, 1000, etc. The thing that makes running an independent record label exciting is that a cycle repeats for each release-you always start with a blank sheet of paper when planning a record and there are countless people to reach. I am satisfied when I release a record that still makes me shout six months or a year after its release, but also when I secure a review in a new magazine or receive an email from somebody new who claims to be the biggest Matinée fan of all time or have a record played on a new radio station. Compared to the so-called "bigger indies" Matinée is still quite small, but then again we don't have an army of people to pay every week to keep things moving or get us reviewed in the papers or strong-arm radio deejays to play our records. Perhaps this is part of the reason the bigger indies are struggling?

Name your dream Matinée roster, excluding current acts.
The Smiths, The Bodines, Brighter, Razorcuts, Orange Juice, Biff Bang Pow!, Brilliant Corners circa "Fruit Machine" , Jesus and Mary Chain circa "Happy When It Rains", early Aztec Camera, Adorable, the Colourfield, House of Love. yes, all old bands. but then again I work with all the good current ones already don't I?

How would you feel if a bigger label offered you thousands of dollars to buy Matinée out?
Delighted, assuming they afforded me complete creative control over everything I am doing now, gave the bands loads of cash, hired me a full time accountant and built a back catalogue warehouse somewhere far from my house.

Do you think that the development of Matinée has been organic, or have you steered the direction of the label in one way or another?
I'd like to think the label has grown in an organic fashion, but having a one-person label makes it pretty difficult NOT to steer it. That said, I have the honour of working with some of the most creative minds in the industry and these artists are as responsible for the direction Matinée has taken over the past five years as much as I am. I suppose the outside world may perceive a typical Matinée "sound" but to me and my merry band of misfits we think of ourselves as a rather diverse bunch.

How would not having Matinée around affect your life?
I'd have a whole lot of free time on my hands and would probably drive my wife crazy with my hyperactivity.

What's next?
Next week sees release of new albums from The Lucksmiths  and Would-Be-Goods, followed by debut 7" singles by The Snowdrops and The Liberty Ship. The near future promises new releases from Lovejoy, The Windmills (including another Matinée first: a video!), Airport Girl, The Fairways, Harper Lee, the long delayed Razorcuts compilation and the first of two label comps. We're also working on Matinée debuts from new bands The Pines, Kosmonaut and The Guild League, and there is a threat of new recordings from Johnny Johnson of the Siddeleys. Stay tuned to Tasty for the latest.

www.indiepages.com/matinee